Worthy causes abound in the city. It does not mean city taxpayers should pay for all of them.
The $125,000 slated by the Board of Estimates to go to the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Sports Legends at Camden Yards museums is the most recent example of misguided largesse with residents? wallets.
Members of the Board of Estimates last week moved money slated for renovating the Babe Ruth Birthplace (another bad spending idea) to help both museums with day-to-day expenses. The museums closed 2006 with a deficit of $400,000 and museum officials project operating deficits of between $250,000 to $600,000 for each of the next two years.
Executive Director Michael Gibbons says the group has “faith” that Baltimore “will re-emerge as a convention city, and that a new synergy will be created around Camden Yards.” He also said he “expects” the Orioles to “restore their fan base” ? the musuems? patrons. But hoping and expecting aren?t the same as a plan.
One wonders if our fearless budget watchdogs at the Board of Estimates ? who include Mayor Sheila Dixon, Comptroller Joan Pratt and City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake ? even asked Gibbons for one.
With bookings way down for big conventions, themuseum cannot count on an onslaught of out-of-town visitors when the new Hilton convention hotel opens next year. And while recent history may not foretell this year?s attendance at Orioles games, hope must not be the basis for financial policy ? especially one paid for by city taxpayers.
As Examiner columnist Antero Pietila pointed out last August, the city is home to a plethora of seemingly worthy museums that can?t pay their way or are barely hanging on, including the venerable Maryland Historical Society.
Baltimore?s American Dime Museum, which struggled financially for years, recently shuttered its doors and sold its collection at auction last week.
Should taxpayers be asked to foot the bill for them, too?
Babe Ruth and other sports legends certainly deserve remembering. But private dollars should curate their memory ? especially in a city in dire need of fixing its schools and better ridding its streets of crime. PNC Foundation set a wonderful example recently for how private groups can improve civic life by donating $1 million to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra ? allowing it to cut ticket prices to $25 next year.
